Controller drum



M y 1931. o. P. SCHUSTER 804, 7." I

CONTROLLER mun Filed March 19. 1929 INVENTOR 0270 PJc/ruafez Patented May 12, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OTTO I. SCHUSTER, OF IRWIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSTGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELEC- I TRIO & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA CONTROLLER DRUM Application filed March 19,

This invention relates generally to controllers and more particularly to controller drums.

The object of the invention, generally stated, is the provision ofa controller drum that shall be simple in construction and readily and economically manufactured and assembled.

A. more specific object of the invention'is to facilitate the assembling of a controller drum and the arrangement of the contact segments to give the desired contact surfaces.

It is also an object ofthe invention to facilitate the rearrangement of the elements of a 16 controller drum to locate the contact segments in predetermined positions to meet the operating conditions and to obtain the maximum length of service.

Other objects of the invention will, in part,

be obvious and, in part, appear hereinafter.

The invention, accordingly, is disclosed in the accompanying drawings and comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the structure hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the object of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the acompanying drawings,

in which;

,Figure 1 is a view, partly in section-and partly in side elevation, of a controller drum constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, taken along the line II'-II Fig. 1, showing a top plan view of the contact'members and support plates.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, taken along 7 the line III-III Fig. 1, showing a top plan view of contact members similar to those shown in Fig. 2 but reversed.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, taken along the line IVIV Fig. 1, showing a top plan view of the contact members and support plates similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating how the contact members may be shaped to meet desired operating conditions, and

1929. Serial No. 348,348.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a contact member blank.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates a drum shaft which is shown mounted in a ball bearing illustrated generally at 11. The drum shaft may be mounted in any suitable controller casing in any well known manner.

In this particular construction, an insulating sleeve 12 is mounted on the drum shaft for thepurpose of insulating the shaft from the other members of the controller. As

shown, annular support plates 18 are mounted upon the insulating sleeve 12 and each plate is provided with a plurality of holes 14 disposed in a circle concentric with the axis of the shaft 10.

In order toretain the rings spaced from one another and located in the desired positions, spacing rings 15 are provided. As will be readily understood, the spacing rings 15 may be made of any desired length, depending on the distance apart that it is desired to space the support plates and drum segments, to be referredto hereinafter. The

spacing rings may be made from any suitable insulating material well known. in the art and may serve not onlyto space the support plates but also to insulate them from one another.

The contact members 16 are mounted on the support plates 13. In this particular embodiment of theinvention, each contact member comprises a contact segment 17 and a flange 18. As shown, thefiange is provided with holes 19 which may be disposed to register with openings 14 in the support plates. In this instance, the flanges of the contact members 16 are secured to the support plates by means of bolts 20. r

Since the support plates are severally provided with a plurality of holes 14, the contact members may be moved circumferentially about the shaft to set them in any predetermined position. This facilitates the arrangement of the contact segments to provide the desired contacting surface.

It will be noted that the flange 18 is so positioned relative to the contact segment 17 that the latter stands symmetrical with refr n e t a horizontal central Plane taken through the support plate 13, when the flange is disposed above the support plate, with the contact segment extending downwardly, and also when the flange is located below the support plate, with the contact segment extending upwardly. Therefore, ia contact member of this type inay-be reversed to present the g This results inthe' burning, of one end of a contact member more quickly than the other.

Consequently, acontact member'that may be reversed without, changing its 'location is highly; desirable since, when one end is burned, it maybetnrned to present an undamaged end for contacting purposes and thereby double the life of the contact member. Q we It isalsopointed outthat, in reversible contact membersof this type, when both ends of a. segment are damaged, they may be cut off; to provide a contact member of smaller size that may be: utilizedto replace smaller contact, members Therefore, a, reversible contact member not only gives maximum life but lends itself, to remodeling.

' In ;c onstructing the contact, members, they 7 may k de-in. the form of rings and then cutto obtain contact members of the desired size. Further, contact members maybe inserted at anytime to replace damaged segments or to change thecontact surface ofthe drunn w I In, conclusion, it is pointed out that, while the illustrated example constitutes apractical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself to the exact details shown, since modiflcations of the same may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention, as defined in theap-pended claims. p p 1 lclaim as my invention: 7 1.; In a 'contactdrum, in combination, a shaft, an insulating sleeve mounted on the shaft, support plates mounted on the shaft 311d, insulated therefrom byjthegsleeve, spacingmembers interposed between, the, support plates, contact members having inwardlylextending flanges disposed, to v be. connected to the supportmembers, and a contact plate extending-transverselyoffthe flanges,; said contact plate being disposed symmetrically; with reference'to a" central: horizontal plane ,ex-

ten in t ro gh hei np rtpla e t 5 2. In a r conta b. .drum, in combination, a shaft, ,an insulating sleeve mounted on the s a t elmi larm npp pl t mm n the le'e e.sea lane-bein prov de wi h mined positions. 5

the support plates, contact members having inwardly extending flanges for attachment to the support plates, a contact segmentextend ing at substantially right angles to the flanges, and means for attaching the flanges to the.support plates. 1

3; In areversible contact drum, iii-combination, a shaft, an insulating sleeve mounted on'the shaft, annular support plates mounted on the sleeve, said supportv plates havingfia pluralityof openings therein arranged in a circle, insulating rings interposed between the support plates to space them in a predetermined manner, contact members provided with inwardly extending flanges adapted to be seated. ,on the, support plates, and contact segments carried by the flanges, said flanges being provided withopenings disposedto register withthe openings in the support plates, and. means for engaging in thetopen-i ings in .theflanges. and support plates to mount the contact members in position on the shaft, the contact segments being disposed relative to the flanges to stand symmetrically with reference to a central horizontal plane .extending. through the support plates;

4. In a contact drum,ain;combination, an

insulated support, a contact} ring, adapted to be. cut intosectionsto provide, a plurality of contact members of, a, predetermine angularextent, eachcomprising aniinwardly extending flange, anda, contactv segment carriedby the flange and disposedrelative .to itto permit reversal; of, the contact member; on ,..the support without changing the :positionlof the contact segment, and means for attaching the flange to the support in different (predeter- Inacontrollerdrum, in combination, a

shaft, supportvplates .-carried by the; shaft,

and extending outwardly, contact members comprising. flanges andmcontact, segments carp ried by: the, flanges, adaptedjo be mounted on-the support plates, the support plates and c n a t gments eingse igned h t h n contact segments stand symmetrically relative to central planes through the, support 'plates when the flanges'are mounted either above or below'tbe support plates, thereby providing bers. V y g e 11 testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of March,- 1929.

' OTTO PwSCI-IUSTERQ" for; reversal of the contact mem- 

